Pennies on the Dollar

Those of you who know me well, know that I dread paying full price for anything! As a matter of fact, I believe my system has actually gone into shock because yesterday I bought two tank tops for $7 each. They weren't marked down at all!! I PAID FULL PRICE!! I think I need to call my therapist now... *sobs* Thankfully, I've learned that I am not the only "bargain shopper" out there. It appears there is a whole community of frugile shoppers just dying to get there fix on the next sale of the century!! And the folks at Parent Bloggers want to know about our best penny pinching skills. They've even provided a wonderful site for all those coupons you dn't want to go looking for yourself: Couponers.com. So I've said it before and I'll say it again... MY FAVORITE STORE IS SEARS!!! That's right... SEARS! The reason for my love affair with Sears is simple... In the past year, I've never spent over $10 for any item of clothing from jeans, to dress slacks, tanks to dress blouses, and even shoes!!! So here's a quick recap of my favorite buys this year: (*Note: Because I hate uploading a ton of pictures on Blogger, I didn't use the actual pictures of the items I bought. These are the default pictures for that item from the Sears website, so please don't ridicule my fashion taste due to clashing colors or ugly prints. The actual items I bought work together very well!) Cute dress in brown and cream Original price $29.99 On Sale for $1.99 Add in the brown heels I bought at Sears for $4.99 and the complete outfit costs $6.98 w/ shoes Cute dress in grean and white Original price $39.99 On Sale for $2.69 Add in the red heels I bought at Walmart for $7 and the complete outfit costs $9.69 w/ shoes Original Price: 29.99 for the slacks, $16 for the tank On Sale for $1.49 and $1.74 Total cost for the outfit $3.23 Original Price: $30 for jeans, $11.98 for the tank Sale price: $3.74 for the jeans and 99 cents for the tank Total cost of outfit: $4.73 Original Price: $30 for twill pants (grey), $28 for (yellow & white striped) belted shirt Sale Price: $4.49 for the pants, $1.79 for the shirt Total outfit cost $6.23 Original Cost: Red jeans w/ Belt $38, Chiffon Blouse (red & brown) $28 Sale Price: janes $5.74, blouse $4.99 Throw in those $7 red heels again and the whole outfit costs $17.73 w/ shoes Original Price: Slacks $24.98, Shirt $22, Hoodie $30 Sale Price: slacks $5.99, Shirt $2.63, Hoodie $2.99 Total cost of outfit: $11.61 Original Price: Skirt $36, Chiffon Blouse $36, Apostrophe shoes $30 Sale Price: Skirt $6.99, Blouse $6.99, shoes $9.99 Original Price of Outfit: $102 What I actually paid for this awesomely professional outfit: $23.97 w/ shoes Original Price: Personal Identity Jeans $30, Black Tee $9.98 Sale Price; $4.79 for jeans, $2.49 for top Total Cost of Outfit: $7.29 And not to leave the Ogre-Child out... I bought an assortment of shorts and shirts on clearance yesterday! Original Cost: Shorts $6.99 Shirt $12 Sale Price: $1.79 shorts, $1.79 shirt Outfit cost: $3.58 Original Cost: Shorts $8.99 Shirt $12 Sale Price: $1.49 shorts, $1.79 shirt Outfit cost: $3.28 Original Cost: Skirt $6.99 Shirt $12 Sale Price: $1.19 skirt, $1.79 shirt Outfit cost: $2.98 Add in two onsies, originally marked at $8.99 I got them on double clearance for $1.49 Last but not least, I got Baby Rose (Ogre-Child's cousin-to-be) a Carter's 4-piece layette set. Originally priced at $24, I picked it up for the bargain price of $6.71. On average, I save 79% off original prices shopping the Sears clearance racks. If you just count clothing, it's closer to 85% off. Because the shoes & bedding I've purchased are usually only about 66% off. Some of the items I bought for just 5% of their original price. And who can't handle 99 cent tank tops and jeans for under $5!! It definately makes me feel a little better about my overflowing closet!